He finished at Pākiri before nightfall and is now heading toward Goat Island, continuing his call to end bottom trawling.
A Strong Day Along the Coast off Te Arai
By Live Ocean
25/01/2026
Read time: 3 min
Article Summary
Main Points
Jono hugged the coastline near Te Arai after a pre-dawn start from Mangawhai, drawing attention from locals as he swam close to shore for shelter from strong westerlies.
It was one of his strongest days yet, covering nearly 27km across two swims and pushing his total distance past 266km.
The Swim4TheOcean live tracker had a different look yesterday, with the swimmer icon showing Jono Ridler tracking very close to land after departing Mangawhai before dawn.
Swimming adjacent to Te Arai, the distinctive blue StabiX, orange IRB and Jono himself were visible from shore, catching the attention of locals and beachgoers.
It proved to be one of his best swimming days yet. Across two swims and almost eight hours in the water, Jono covered close to 27km. He has now broken through 250km total distance swum, ending the day on 266.5km since setting out from Waikuku Beach at North Cape.
Hugging the coastline was a deliberate move, with land providing shelter from strong offshore westerlies. An hour after the second swim began, On-Water Lead Andy Tuke reported on conditions:
“We’re here off Te Arai and the wind has been pretty gusty this afternoon – westerly and straight offshore. The highest we’ve seen is 32 knots. We’re only around 150 metres off the beach and conditions here are reasonably good and pretty favourable for Jono swimming.”
Jono and the crew came ashore at Pākiri after 8pm, camping overnight for a well-earned rest after pushing hard over the past three days since extreme weather eased enough to resume swimming.
Today, Jono will complete a shorter swim to come ashore at Te Hāwere-a-Maki (Goat Island) Marine Reserve for a community stopover. The location is significant as New Zealand’s oldest marine protected area, and Live Ocean’s science and knowledge partners from the University of Auckland will be among those welcoming him in around midday.
Jono’s endurance effort is driven by a clear purpose: calling for an end to bottom trawling. New Zealand is still bottom trawling seamounts in our own waters, and is the only nation continuing to bottom trawl seamounts on the South Pacific high seas.
Swim4TheOcean is calling on the New Zealand Government to end bottom trawling on all seamounts – at home and on the high seas – by the end of 2027, and to activate a rapid transition away from bottom trawling entirely.
Go Jono!
Total distance covered: 266.5km
Yesterday’s swims — at a glance
Swim 1
Start: 6:04am
Time: 3 hours
Distance: 9.7km
Average speed: 3.2km/h
Swim 2
Start: 2:56pm
Time: 4 hours 49 minutes
Distance: 16.9km
Average speed: 3.4km/h
1,000 Miles. 90 Days.
A Swim For The Ocean.
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